


Escape Room

by boldlygowherenodoghasgonebefore



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Claustrophobia, Fluff, Games, Holodecks/Holosuites, Panic Attacks, Puzzles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 18:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13440306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boldlygowherenodoghasgonebefore/pseuds/boldlygowherenodoghasgonebefore
Summary: Julian, Garak, Dax and Worf go to an Escape Room on the holodeck.





	Escape Room

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place early in the 5th season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Dax puts down her raktajino.

“Worf. We’re going to be late.”

Worf stops pacing and turns back to her.

“I still don’t understand why we have to engage in this _game_ with Garak and Dr. Bashir.”

“It’ll be fun!”

“If you say so.”

  
Garak and Julian walk to the holodeck, Julian chatting away, barely stopping to take a breath.

“So when I was in Starfleet Medical Academy, I took these engineering extension courses and the engineering students had a dungeons and dragons club. And we used to go to Palace games to solve these escape rooms, they had to be finished in an hour and no watches were allowed. There was the Great Houdini escape room and the-“

“The Great Houdini?”

“He was a terran escape artist who toured North America and Europe; his initial fame came from escaping police handcuffs, jails, and even prisons-“

“And this gained him fame rather than interrogation? Why, if he had been born on Cardiassia-“

“Yes, yes, the obsidian order would have made short work of him. Anyway, we would go to these rooms to solve puzzles, they were a great team-building experience, and-“

“My dear, let’s leave something to the imagination. You can show me the wonders of the escape room soon enough.”

 

At exactly nineteen hundred hours, Worf and Dax appear at the entrance to the holodeck.

Quark has already loaded the program. Worf walks ahead, and the others follow. The room is dark. Garak reaches out to touch the wall, then turns and his arm brushes against another wall. He closes his eyes for a moment while the others explore. There is a small glowing light in the corner, and Dax places her hand on it. The room lights up, exposing a locked gate in front of them, and another room beyond it. As Worf attempts to push through the gate, Julian leans over and places a hand lightly on Garak’s shoulder.

“Are you all right, Garak?”

Garak quickly composes himself.

“Simply waiting for the game to become more interesting, Doctor. I fail to see the allure of standing in a hallway trying to open a gate. Perhaps if your Houdini were here, he could slip through the gate.”

Julian rolls his eyes and goes to join Dax and Worf.

Dax looks exasperated.

“Worf, it isn’t just going to open if you push hard enough. We have to figure out how to dismantle the lock. The puzzles are the whole point of the game.”

“But surely the point of an escape room is to escape. Every second we wait costs us valuable time-“

“Worf, the point of the game is to have fun! To work together and enjoy each other's company, not go charging through trying to end the game as quickly as possible.”

“Jadzia-

Julian strides over.

“There are numbers on the lock. Clearly there is information hidden in this room that will allow us to find the right combination.”

 

Twenty minutes later, they were through the gate and searching the main room for clues. Worf began to open every drawer, every cabinet, and rifle through the files on the desk. Garak strolled around the room, noticing a small compass.

“I believe this is important. The room has maps on the desk and the walls. Perhaps we can find the right placement for it and see what mechanism it triggers.”

“We must simply find a way to open the door. Something in this room should be able to overcome the locking mechanism. I do not understand why it is taking so long.”

Garak sighed. “Mr. Worf, you are no fun at all.”

“It is not a question of fun. We need to examine every object in the room-“

“I fail to see how that is an efficient use of our time.”

“I will not take advice from a spy and and a-“

Dax places her hand on Worf’s arm.

“-a.. a tailor. Fine. Let us see the compass.”

 

The final room was not much bigger than the initial hallway, but at least it was lit. The key they’d obtained in the main room opened a massive trunk with a codex inside. It had a 5-letter combination, and came with a book of seemingly unrelated pictures.

As they look around for ideas to solve the codex, Dax suddenly turns to Julian.

“The paintings on the walls have letters! The book of pictures is a key to the codex-“

“-so we just have to match the paintings with the pictures in the book.”

Caught up in their discovery, Julian and Dax run back into the main room, holding up the sketches in the book to the paintings. As Garak and Worf start to follow, a door closes, locking them into the small room. A moment of silence, then the lights go out.

Garak starts to sweat; covering quickly, he says, “Is there a reason we’re locked in, Doctor? Are we meant to quake in fear of the dark?”

Julian looks over.

“I don’t know. I was told that once we gained access to a room, it stayed open. Computer, open the door to the back room.”

Nothing happened. “Computer, arch.”

Julian and Dax exchange a look.

Worf attempts to pull the doors apart, but they stay shut. Garak sinks down to a crouch, trembling, his breathing shallow as he tries to calm himself. _Get ahold of yourself, Garak. Yes, this is a tightly-enclosed space, but a disciplined mind does not allow itself to be sidetracked by niggling psychological disorders like claustrophobia._

Worf grunts in frustration.

“Garak! Come and help me. We must open the door.”

Garak stays silent and motionless as Worf continues his futile attempt.

“Garak!”

Worf squints in the darkness to discover Garak crouching on the floor, sweating and shaky.

“Garak, are you ill? Computer, end program!”

Again, nothing happened.

“Doctor Bashir, something is wrong with Garak. He is shaking, unable to stand, and appears to be having some trouble breathing.”

Garak struggles to his feet.

“I’m fine,” he manages, still struggling to breathe normally.

“Is this another game, Garak? Because if it is-”

“Just get that door open!”

Julian calls through the door, concerned, “Garak, are you all right?”.

“My chest burns, my hands are numb, and I feel a bit dizzy. But it is nothing serious, I’m sure. We Cardassians come from stronger stock than humans. I’ll be fine.”

Ignoring the barb, Julian asks, “Worf, did these symptoms start when the doors closed?”

“I believe so, doctor.”

“Garak? Listen to me carefully. You’re having a panic attack. Are you claustrophobic?”

Garak is silent.

“Doctor Bashir, the holodeck is clearly malfunctioning. Can we contact Captain Sisko or Chief Obrien?”

Dax shakes her head in frustration on the other side of the door.

“I’ve been trying to override the holodeck controls to access the main computer but for now, we’re on our own.”

Worf drew himself up and said, “Well then, doctor, I will have to care for him myself. How do one cure a panic attack?”

Julian sighs.

“There isn’t a cure. You simply have to keep him calm, and focused, and wait until the symptoms subside.”

“Focused on what?”

“Anything. His breathing. Images, sounds, smells, anything that draws his attention away from the panic. Focusing on the senses can be grounding.”

Worf leans over.

“Garak. Stay calm. Breathe.”

Garak takes a ragged breath.

“Focus on what you see. What do you see?”

Garak opens his eyes, then shuts them again. “The walls closing in.”

“How about sounds? What sounds do you hear?”

“A Klingon droning on incessantly. Do you hear it too?”

On the other side of the wall, Dax works at a furious pace, trying to find clues that would reopen the tiny room where Garak and Worf are trapped.

The intercom chimes.

“Julian? Dax?”

“Miles! Am I glad to hear your voice.”

“There’s been a holodeck malfunction. Stand by while we shut down the program.”

A few seconds later, the escape room disappears.

Julian hurries over to Garak.

“Garak, how are you feeling?”

“My dear doctor, I never knew you had such dangerous hobbies.”

Julian smiles.

“Perhaps there’s hope for you yet.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked this story, follow me on tumblr: boldlygowherenodoghasgonebefore


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